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During his adventuring career, Abdel was almost 7 feet (2.13 m) tall with ink-black hair that he kept long.[4][2] He had dark eyes and made sure to keep his tanned face clean shaven[2].

In 1479 DR, Abdel appeared to be in his sixtieth year despite being well over a century old. He had lost none of his obvious strength or stature but his hair had begun to turn grey and his face appeared more wizened.

Abdel wielded a broadsword which he kept strapped to his back[5] and wore a chain mail tunic.[6] His prized possession was a magical dagger, given to him by Gorion as a coming-of-age gift, though Abdel remained oblivious to its magical nature[2].

Abdel was rescued from a group of deathstalkers by the Hands of Loyal Fury. The order of paladins knew of his lineage and wished him destroyed, but their leader, Sir Daesric the Pious, could not bring himself to allow the killing of an infant. He called upon his friend Gorion to raise the child as a monk of Torm and though reluctant, Gorion agreed. Adrian was taken to Gorion's home in the library fortress of Candlekeep,[7] where he was raised as Gorion's own son, unaware of his heritage and nature as a mortal child of Bhaal. The Hands kept watch over Abdel to make sure he showed no signs of evil but when Bhaal was killed during the Time of Troubles, they gave up the effort[2]. Other orphans were also raised there, including another Bhaalspawn called Imoen, who became his friend in spite of his often unfriendly and even cruel treatment of her.[citation needed] In the autumn of 1360[2], Abdel left Candlekeep to travel around and work as a mercenary.[7]

In 1368 DR, Abdel gained work in Baldur's Gate on a caravan bound for Candlekeep, his childhood home, and was reunited with his adopted father, who asked Abdel to accompany him to the Friendly Arms Inn to gather some information.[8] On the journey along the Coast Way,[9] Gorion and Adbel were ambushed by a group of mercenaries that included Eagus and Kamon. During the battle, Abdel killed the mercenaries, but Gorion was hit in the eye by a crossbow bolt and died. Eventually he was joined by Gorion's married friends, Khalid and Jaheira, eventually falling for Jaheira. Eventually, Abdel and Jaheira engaged in a romance and Abdel killed Sarevok, thus completing his vengeance.[10] Soon after, he returned to Candlekeep, only to be captured by Jon Irenicus.[citation needed]

Although Adrian eventually escaped the grasp of Irenicus, he ended up being aided by Bodhi. Slowly, he began to fall in love with Bodhi, who had already fallen for him, with the two ending up on an adventure to stop Irenicus. Travelling with Bodhi, Abdel eventually acted on his feelings for her and the two had sex.[citation needed] However, before they were going to again consummate, Abdel transformed into the Bhaalspawn Slayer and murdered his love. After defeating Irenicus, Abdel resumed his romance with Jaheira and became embroiled in a conflict with the other Bhaalspawn. Travelling to Tethyr, Abdel defeated his half-siblings and proceeded to reject the Throne of Bhaal, choosing to keep Bhaal's essence trapped inside his body.[citation needed]

After a relatively brief, peaceful stay at Candlekeep, Abdel returned to Baldur's Gate where he joined and rose meteorically through the ranks of, the Flaming Fist, earning the position of Marshal after Grand Duke Valarken's coup resulted in the death of the Marshal at the time. For his actions during the coup, Abdel was also elected Grand Duke for life of Baldur's Gate. Beloved in the Lower and Outer Cities he serves both positions for decades due to his extended life as a Bhaalspawn. Around 1479 DR, on Returning Day, his half-brother Viekang engaged Adrian in a fight in the Wide of Baldur's Gate's Upper City [The canonical winner of the fight is yet to be determined]. The fight's winner was the last surviving Bhaalspawn and transformed into The Slayer, heralding the resurrection of Bhaal, god of Murder[11].

Despite protests from those in the Lower and Outer City, Abdel had a somber funeral in the Upper City and his body was placed under High Hall, where those who claimed to love him most could not freely visit.[12]

Adrian was physically very strong. He had long dark hair and generally evoked awe in anyone who saw him; fear in opponents and desire in women. In spite of his very human weaknesses, it was often obvious to those seeing him that he was far greater than a normal mortal. He was an experienced mercenary and a fairly skilled if brutal fighter. His Bhaalspawn blood also gave him certain special abilities that allowed him to prevail even when he was otherwise outmatched in combat. After he found out about his true heritage, these seemed to grow in power. When he had been imprisoned by Jon Irenicus and tortured, he noticed his injuries healing at a rapid rate. This regeneration soon became veritably troll-like, so that even when he broke his spine it healed within moments. He also became able to draw on his divine blood in combat to defeat powerful creatures his mercenary's skill in battle was no match against. Eventually, he gained invulnerability to normal weapons. He was no tactician; he was quite impulsive and would usually just charge whatever he faced without thought. This obviously sometimes brought less than desirable results.[citation needed]

Adrian's personality was characterized by a struggle between the demands to be a hero and the temptation to give in to his inherent bloodlust and to other base urges. Even his love for those close to him was hard-pressed to fight against his darker side. He tried to follow Gorion's peaceful teachings, and after falling in love with Jaheira tried to turn a new leaf in his life and leave behind the amoral life of a killer for hire, but he never ceased to enjoy violence, and he was also forced to kill for money he sorely needed. He had a concept of honor, but he found it difficult to adhere to, and he wasn't interested in being a hero. On several occasions, events would drag him along with them, making him save the day completely without his consent. Sometimes his dark side would manifest itself completely without thought on his part, as befit his impulsiveness; at others, he would fight it with varying degrees of success. For example, he would often resort to violence without thinking about the implications, but when cheating on Jaheira with another woman, he was clearly aware that what he was doing was wrong and just could not resist the temptation.[citation needed]

Video games are considered canonunless they contradict content in some other Forgotten Realms publication.

Abdel Adrian corresponds to the protagonist in the Baldur's Gate Series of games, who was named by the player and could be of either gender and of almost any conventional race and class. The most notable difference between Adrian and this character is that Adrian was already an experienced mercenary when he got into a conflict with Sarevok, whereas the game protagonist was a 1st-level character still living in Candlekeep.

Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast comes with a save file ("Mission-Pack-Save") that starts right out in the new area of Ulgoth's Beard with a ready-made party. The party's leader has been made to be a human fighter called Abdel with very high scores for all physical attributes and Charisma but very low Intelligence and Wisdom. Perhaps less appropriately, he also has gray skin, blue hair and Neutral Good alignment (despite working with NPCs such as Edwin Odesseiron and Viconia DeVir).